1973.10.06-1973.10.25 - The Yom Kippur War

Sources

1. ”Yom Kippur War” Wikipedia. Accessed April 27th, 2024.

Belligerents

1. Israel
   1. Notable Leaders
      1. Prime Minister - Golda Meir
      2. Minister of Defense - Moshe Dayan
   2. 375,000 - 415,000 troops
   3. 1,700 tanks
   4. 3,000 APCs
   5. 945 artillery units
   6. 440 combat aircraft

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1. Egypt

   1. Notable Leaders
      1. Anwar Sadat
   2. 650,000 - 800,000 troops
   3. 1,700 tanks
   4. 2,400 APCs
   5. 1,120 artillery units
   6. 400 combat aircraft
   7. 140 helicopters
   8. 104 naval vessels
   9. 150 surface-to-air missile batteries

2. Syria

   1. Notable Leaders
      1. Hafez al-Assad
   2. 150,000 troops
   3. 1,200 tanks
   4. 800 - 900 armored carriers
   5. 600 artillery units Expeditionary Forces

3. 120,000 troops

4. 500-670 tanks

5. 700 APCs

6. Saudi Arabia

   1. 23,000 troops

7. Algeria

8. Jordan

9. Iraq

10. Libya

11. Kuwait

12. Tunisia

13. Morocco

    1. 5,500 troops
    2. 30 tanks (provided by Syria)
    3. 52 combat aircraft

14. Cuba

    1. 500 - 1,000 troops

15. North Korea

Casualties and losses

1. Israel
   1. 2,521 - 2,800 dead
   2. 7,250 - 8,800 wounded
   3. 293 captured
   4. 400 tanks destroyed, 663 damaged or captured
   5. 407 armored vehicles destroyed or captured
   6. 102-387 aircraft destroyed

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1. Egypt
   1. 5,000 - 15,000 dead
   2. 8,373 captured
2. Syria
   1. 3,000 - 3,500 dead
   2. 392 captured
3. Morocco
   1. 6 dead
   2. 6 captured
4. Iraq
   1. 278 dead
   2. 898 wounded
   3. 13 captured
5. Cuba
   1. 180 dead
   2. 250 wounded
6. Jordan
   1. 23 dead
   2. 77 wounded

Location

• Israel, the Sinai Peninsula and both sides of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the Golan Heights in Syria

Causes

• Lead-up
  • After the 1967 6-day war, the Israeli government voted to return captured territory to Syria and Egypt in exchange for peace and demilitarization, but these proposals were never proven to have been transmitted to either Arab state.
  • In the Khartoum Arab Summit, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait and Sudan all agreed to the “three no’s,” no peace, no recognition and no negotiation with Israel.
  • The War of Attrition takes place from 1967-1970, across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders, including both their militaries and the PLO, with Arafat coming to the head of the PLO in 1969.
  • in December of 1970 in an article to the New York Times, Anwar Sadat agreed to recognize Israel as an independent state in exchange for a full withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula along with other occupied Arab territories.
  • Golda Meir put together a committee to examine the Egyptian peace proposal, but rejected said proposal feeling as though it would not ensure Israel’s security, despite the committee unanimously concluding that Israel’s interests would be served.
  • US was supplying Israel with military force since the 1960’s and considered it an ally during the Cold War.
  • Resolution 242 called for Israel to abandon all of its 6-day war territorial gains and for every state in the region to have an official recognition of their boundaries and right to exist.
  • In October of 1972, facing mounting domestic pressure, Sadat declared his intention to go to war against Israel, even absent Soviet support.
  • In February of 1973, Sadat made a final peace overture towards Israel via Kissinger, which Meir rejected, most likely with the understanding that war was inevitable.
  • Israel did not think war was coming, despite multiple repeated credible warnings, including a warning from King Hussein himself.

Events

• Israeli Preparation
  • Meir, the Chief of General Staff, opted not to attack Syria hours before the war began because he recognized the importance for not being blamed as starting any conflict in order to recruit American or other international assistance.
  • Kissinger and Nixon warned Meir not to begin a pre-emptive war.
• Battle in the Sinai
  • October 6th was the initial attacks from Egyptian aircraft.
  • The US held back on supplies for Israel in order to encourage them to accept a ceasefire once hostilities began, but Sadat refused. The Soviets began supplying arms to Egypt and Syria while the US then resumed supplying arms to Israel.
  • Israel refrained from attacking economic and strategic infrastructure in response to Egyptian threats to fire Scud missiles onto Israeli cities.
  • Israel managed to set up bridges and break through to the other end of the Suez canal, pushing into Egypt.
• Initial Syrian Attacks
  • The Syrians began their attacks with an airstrike against Israeli positions in the Golan Heights.
  • Syrians pushed Israeli military lines back to the Southern Golan Heights.
  • Dayan discussed the possible arming of nuclear weapons in response to Syrian military gains. Meir rejected this option. Syrian mechanized brigades did not advance into Israel as they had feared an Israel nuclear response.
  • Missiles from Syrian offensive lines struck civilian settlements in Israel, and in retaliation, seven Israeli F-4 Phantoms flew into Syria and attacked the Syrian General Staff Headquarters in Damascus.
• Israeli Advance towards Damascus
  • Israeli troops advanced towards Damascus and began shelling the outskirts of the city from 30km away.
• Arab Military Intervention
  • Syria and Iraq sent expeditionary forces into Syria to defend from further Israeli military advancement.
  • Israel was able to launch strikes all across Syria, attacking power plants, petrol supplies, bridges and main roads.
• Naval Operations
  • Egyptian missile boats bombarded Israeli positions on the Sinai coast on the first day of the war. Israeli missile boats decisively won these battles at sea.
  • Two Egyptian destroyers enforced a blockade, preventing oil from Iran being shipped to Israel through the straights of Bab-el-Mandeb.
• Participation by other states
  • The US intelligence community, including the CIA, failed to predict the Egyptian-Syrian attack on Israel.
  • Most officials in the Defense and Statement Departments opposed financing Israel, but Kissinger argued heavily in favor of supporting Israel so they would confirm to American views in postwar diplomacy.
  • Meir authorized the assembly of thirteen 20-kiloton-TNT tactical nuclear weapons for Jericho missiles, done in an easily detectable way to signal to the United States. This was done on the 8-9th of October after previously rejecting this idea on the 7th.
  • On the 9th of October, after Kissinger learned of the nuclear alert, Nixon ordered the beginning of Operation Nickel Grass.
    • The US, over 32 days, airlifted 22,325 tons of tanks, artillery and ammunition to Israel.
    • In later interviews, Kissinger, Schlesinger and William Quandt suggested that the nuclear aspect was not a major factor influencing re-supply. They cite Soviet re-supply efforts and Sadat’s rejection of early ceasefires as being the primary motivators.
  • The Soviet Union supplied around 80,000 tons of supplies, mainly to Syria, and also to Egypt.
  • Soviet advisors were reportedly involved in all areas of the war. 2,000 personnel in Syria, with 1,000 serving in Syrian air defense units. They also repaired damaged tanks, SAMs and radar equipment and assembled fighter jets.
  • Soviet in advisors were reportedly present in all areas of Syrian command posts.
  • Israel may have captured and traded Soviet officers who were captured from the Syrian front, though Israel and the USSR denies this.
  • In Syria, a Soviet cultural center in Damascus and a merchant ship, Ilya Mechnikov, was sunk by the Israeli Navy.
  • This all occurred during the apex of the Watergate Scandal. Nixon was so agitated and discomposed that there were times with Kissinger and Haif didn’t bother to wake him for consultation.
  • Arab countries added up to 100,000 troops to Egypt and Syria’s frontline ranks.
    • Algeria, East Germany, North Korean, Pakistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Sudan all sent forces, ammo, tanks, pilots, etc…

Outcome

• Ceasefire
  • On October 22nd, 1973, the UNSC passed a 14-0 resolution calling for a ceasefire, negotiated mainly between the US and the USSR.
  • For the first time, three Scud Missiles were fired at Israeli targets by either Egyptian forces or Soviet personnel in Egypt, which was the first combat use of Scud Missiles. All three targets were in the Sinai.
  • Ceasefire claims to have been broken by both sides during the night, and Israel capitalized on the ceasefire break to advance beyond the UNSC ceasefire lines.
• Egypt’s Third Army
  • The US, seeing an opportunity to bring Egypt closer to its sphere of influence, exerted heavy pressure on Israel to refrain from destroying the trapped Third Army.
    • Kissinger told the Israeli ambassador, Simcha Dinitz, that the destroying of the Egyptian Third Army “is an option that does not exist.”
• Post-war Battles
  • The ceasefire wasn’t followed closely by either side, with the fighting not stopping until January 18th, 1974.
  • The Israeli Army was 100 km from Cairo after their advancement from the west bank.
• Ceasefire
  • On the 22nd of October, UNSC Resolution 338 called for a ceasefire. The war would finally come to a close on the 26th of October.
  • Israel and Egypt signed a formal ceasefire on 11th of November, and the disengagement agreement happened on the 18th of January, 1974.
  • There was a secret agreement that Jordan and Israel would not heavily engage with each other. Hussein was pressured to enter the war to maintain his position of leadership and respect in the Arab world.
• Response in Israel
  • Israel was shaken due to initial military difficulties and how unprepared they were in the beginning of the conflict.
  • Golda Meir resign along with her entire cabinet, including Dayan.
• Response in Egypt
  • General Shazly angered Sadat for advocating the withdrawal of Egyptian forces from Sinai and was kicked out of the army, would go into political exile and then was placed under house arrest upon his return.
  • The commanders of the Second and Third Armies, Khalil and Wasel, were also dismissed from the army.
• Response in Syria
  • In Syria, Colonel Rafik Halawi, the Druze commander of an infantry brigade, was executed for his military performance.
• Response from Soviet Union
  • They mad, gave lots of stuff to the Arabs and were upset that they still lost.
• Arab Oil Embargo
  • Saudi Arabia declared an embargo against the US, later joined by other oil exporters and extended against the Netherlands and other countries, causing the 1973 energy crisis.
• Syrian atrocities
  • Many Israeli POWs were tortured or killed.
    • Syrian Defense Minster Mustafa Tlass addressed the National Assembly in 1973 stating that he had awarded one solder the Medal of the Republic for killing 28 Israeli prisoners with an axe, decapitating three of them and eating the flesh of one of his victims. (Did this actually happen???)
      • The original Jewish Telegraphic Agency article quotes and says the soldier from Aleppo killed 28 Israeli soldiers, 3 with an axe and devoured the flesh of one of them in hand to hand combat.
  • A soldier from the Moroccan contingent fighting with Syrian forces was found to be carrying a sack filled with the body parts of Israeli soldiers which he intended to take home as souvenirs.
  • Syrian soldiers removed dog tags from bodies.
  • Syria did not even officially acknowledge holding any prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• Egyptian atrocities
  • Multiple Israeli claims of prisoners being shot and killed.
  • Photographic evidence of the torture/killings of Israeli POWs also exists.
  • The order to kill Israeli prisoners came from General Shazly, who, in a pamphlet distributed to Egyptian soldiers immediately before the war, advised his troops to kill Israeli soldiers even if they surrendered.

Important Notes